“David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, and hurled it with his sling. It struck the P’lishti in his forehead and buried itself in his forehead so that he fell face down on the ground. Thus David defeated the P’lishti with a sling and a stone, striking the P’lishti and killing him; but David had no sword in his hand. Then David ran and stood over the P’lishti, took his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and finished killing him, cutting off his head with it.”-1 Samuel 17:49-51
Yesterday, I mentioned the battle between David and Goliath was a spiritual showdown between David’s God and the Philistines’ gods over territory.
Now one would have expected the God of Israel to have all power and authority over His territory (in this case, Judah).
But since the Philistines were currently occupying Israelite land, and since their soldiers appeared to be the superior force, the Israelite militia had lost confidence.
They weren’t so sure their God still reigned supreme in their land.
That’s why David had to set the record straight.
So the young Judean shepherd takes one of the small stones he picked up from the riverbed in the valley of Elah, puts it in his sling, and starts spinning it around.
After several strong swings to build momentum, David releases the rock and it zips off like a tiny, heat-seeking missile heading straight toward Goliath’s face, the only unprotected part of the giant’s body.
The rock lands with full force smack dab in the middle of Goliath’s forehead.
Goliath instantly toppled “face down on the ground”.
That’s a very significant detail.
Why?
Well, do you remember who the God of the Philistines is?
It was a deity called Dagon.
Check out these verses from chapter 5 of 1st Samuel:
“The P’lishtim had captured the ark of God and brought it from Even-‘Ezer to Ashdod. Then the P’lishtim took the ark of God, brought it to the temple of Dagon and set it next to Dagon. But early the next morning, when the people of Ashdod got up, there was Dagon, fallen down with his face to the ground before the ark of Adonai. They took Dagon and set him in his place again; but early the following morning, when they got up, Dagon was again fallen down with his face to the ground before the ark of Adonai; this time, the head of Dagon and both hands lay there, severed, on the threshold; all that was left of Dagon was his torso.“-1 Samuel 5:1-4
Hmm… veeeeeeeeeeery interesting…
David’s defeat of Goliath corresponds to an earlier event.
This ain’t no coincidence, folks!
This is indeed a divine pattern.
Just as the statue of Dagon, the Philistine god, fell face down before the presence of Adonai (the Ark of the Covenant), so too did Goliath fall prostrate before David who came to fight the Philistine giant in the name of Adonai.
And notice how both Dagon and Goliath had their heads removed.
To fall over face down meant utter defeat and submission.
The idol of Dagon fell face down in submission to the God of Israel, and the same thing happened with Goliath.
I’m sure each side instantly recognized the meaning of what had just occurred.
The takeaway here is clear as day.
“Today Adonai will hand you over to me. I will attack you, lop your head off, and give the carcasses of the army of the P’lishtim to the birds in the air and the animals in the land. Then all the land will know that there is a God in Isra’el, and everyone assembled here will know that Adonai does not save by sword or spear. For this is Adonai’s battle, and he will hand you over to us.”-1 Samuel 17:46-47
The part I bolded is the lesson:
The God of Israel lives…
And He remains active and fighting for His People…
No matter how bleak things may seem in the present moment.
Ya feel me?
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